Climate Adaptation

Contents         Plans and Studies

The Adaptation Chapter (1.89 MB) of the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan states that

Tompkins County should be a place where the entire community is prepared for the economic, environmental, and social impacts of climate change.

It is the policy of Tompkins County to:

• Maintain floodways and limit development within floodplains to reduce damages from floods.
• Improve connectivity of open space to prevent fragmentation of ecosystems and isolation of plant and wildlife populations.
• Promote adaptation measures that lessen climate impacts on the local economy.
• Encourage actions that protect vulnerable populations from the impacts of climate change.
• Prepare for community recovery in the event of disaster.

Plans and Studies

Tompkins County Hazard Mitigation Plan

The Tompkins County Department of Planning and Sustainability facilitates hazard mitigation projects and planning activities throughout Tompkins County. These activities are intended to help minimize damages associated with natural hazards and emergency events that occur in the future.

The Tompkins County Hazard Mitigation Plan: 2013 Update is available here (16.98 MB).

For ease of access, the Final Plan is also available in four separate sections:

• Plan Profile, Process and Risk Assessment (7.55 MB)
• Mitigation Goals and High Priority Actions (0.16 MB)
• National Flood Insurance Plan and Process (0.12 MB)
• Appendices (9.28 MB)

The Plan has been adopted by Tompkins County and each of the nine towns in the county. The Plan has also been adopted by the City of Ithaca and the villages of Cayuga Heights, Dryden, Freeville, and Lansing.

An Executive Summary of the 2006 Hazard Mitigation Plan is available here (0.37 MB).